SurrendersMischief Read Online Free Page B

her most intimate places, a planned quality that was now
absent. His hands closed over her shoulders. He pulled her closer.
    Determined that this time she wouldn’t be the victim, Riana
wound her arms around his neck. She felt him start, and smiled. No, this
wouldn’t be like last night where he remained in total control while she had
none. She’d make damn sure of it.
    She nipped his ear. Hard.
    A low, dark sound emanated from deep in his throat. He
tangled his fist in her hair, pulled her head back. “You live dangerously.”
    A slow lift curled the corner of her mouth. She slid her
hands down his chest, shaping bone and muscle with exquisite care. The antique
gold of his eyes darkened, and the already harsh planes of his face tautened,
became almost savage as she went lower. Cupped the fierce erection pushing at
the leather breeches.
    “This says otherwise.”
    Immediately, she knew she’d erred. Desire drained out of his
expression and he shoved her away. Riana wanted to curse at the withdrawal.
Despite her fury with him, despite last night, she sensed his bringing her here
was important somehow. And now she’d ruined it.
    She did curse when he left without a word. The sound of the
key turning in the old-fashioned lock hovered mockingly on the air.

Chapter Three
     
    Riana opened the door to his office and saw Darias’ dark
head bent over some papers he had spread out on his desk. Good. She’d finally
run the vseal to ground. After last night spent in that horrid cell,
kept company only by the ghosts of women long gone—very unhappy women, she
might add—he owed her a few explanations. She shuddered. Oh, she didn’t mean
actual ghosts, but the rage, the hurt, the sadness of generations of women had
permeated the faded elegance and stone walls of the women’s quarters. Sleeping
had been out of the question.
    She slipped inside and locked the door behind her.
    Let him try to run now.
    Last night had, in some indefinable way, changed things.
She’d had plenty of time to think, locked in that cell. But even after hours of
contemplation, she was no closer to an answer. No closer to understanding why
he’d really hauled her down there in the first place. All she knew was that
with break of dawn and Bryta coming to set her free, Darias was no longer just
her barbaric captor but a man with many, complex layers.
    Not that he seemed in a hurry to explain any of those layers
to her.
    She narrowed her eyes. She’d swear he was avoiding her. In
fact, she was certain of it. How else to account for him leaving a room mere
moments before she entered? She’d chased him all over this blasted keep for
hours. Not that she was complaining about her freedom of movement, mind. She
just didn’t understand it.
    And Riana needed to understand the world around her, it was
the only way to maintain an edge.
    She saw him stiffen at the faint click of the lock, but he
didn’t lift his head. Curious as to what could hold his attention so strongly,
she moved closer. Looking over his shoulder, she saw it was an official request
to open trade negotiations from a country-state called Far Islands. The trader
in her coming to the fore, she skimmed the document.
    “Wow, they want trade with you pretty bad. What’s the
catch?”
    Darias straightened in his chair, a remote expression on his
face. “‘The ‘catch’, as you call it, is irrelevant. Nexar will not deal with
Far Islands.”
    “Is the offer a trick then? Do they produce inferior goods?”
Riana settled her hip on the edge of the huge, darkly gleaming desk, her
grievances forgotten for the moment. Trading was as necessary to her as food.
More, maybe. “Will they not honor a contract?” Stupid move if that was the
case. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Darias would not hesitate to punish
such a transgression.
    “No, they produce high-quality goods.”
    Damn, she wished she could tell what he was thinking, but
there was a barrier in his eyes that kept her from even